Shipper Alert! Trump Pauses Mexico Tariffs on USMCA Goods
President Trump announced today, for products and services covered by the USMCA, he would pause the 25% tariffs on Mexico that went into effect on Tuesday (March 4th). Emel Akan reports in the Epoch Times:
President Donald Trump said on March 6 that he would pause his 25 percent tariff for Mexican goods and services that are covered under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April 2.“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement,” Trump announced on Truth Social on March 6. “This Agreement is until April 2nd. I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum.”
I wrote in Universal Cargo’s blog on Tuesday, when the 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods went into effect along with a 10% increase on tariffs for Chinese goods, that some tariffs may only last a matter of days. That turned out to be the case with much of the implementation of this latest tariff on Mexico, as the USMCA covers a wide range of goods and services.
However, I also wrote there will likely be tariffs that escalate back and forth between the U.S. and other countries as well. The trade war with China is already back in that direction, and the tariffs with Canada seem to be trending toward escalation too.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced, after the 25% tariff on Canadian goods went into effect on Tuesday, that Canada would retaliate with tariffs on more than $100 billion worth of American goods over the next few weeks.
Prime Minister Trudeau seemed as good as gone from leading the Canadian government, but President Trump said on Truth Social that Trudeau is using the tariff situation, for which President Trump lays a large portion of the blame on Trudeau, to run again for Prime Minister:
Believe it or not, despite the terrible job he’s done for Canada, I think that Justin Trudeau is using the Tariff problem, which he has largely caused, in order to run again for Prime Minister. So much fun to watch!
On the other hand, President Trump praised Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, even after saying the tariff pause was out of respect for her:
Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl. Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!
Ultimately, President Trump has goals with his tariffs. It’s obvious he wants to stop illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl through the southern and northern borders. So far, he seems to be getting better cooperation from Mexico than Canada.
Of course, at Universal Cargo, we’ll be keeping an eye on what’s happening with tariffs. It’ll be a topic we continue to cover in this blog. And our experts are always ready to help you with all of your international shipping needs.
